Editorial: Senate should act on Monken appointment

Monday

Jun 29, 2009 at 12:01 AMJun 29, 2009 at 4:04 AM

“Mushrooms” is the name lobbyists, bureaucrats and journalists have for the backbench legislators at the Capitol, which includes nearly every lawmaker who is not House speaker, Senate president or the leader of the Republican minority in either chamber.

“Mushrooms” is the name lobbyists, bureaucrats and journalists have for the backbench legislators at the Capitol, which includes nearly every lawmaker who is not House speaker, Senate president or the leader of the Republican minority in either chamber.

Like the fungus, legislative mushrooms, it is said, are “kept in the dark.” Lately, as their leaders and the governor have dithered over the state budget, they don’t have a lot to do until somebody comes out and tells them what’s what.

So it's a mystery as to what Sen. Tony Munoz, D-Chicago, was talking about when he said that members of the Senate have been too busy dealing with the budget to vote on whether or not to confirm Jon Monken as Illinois State Police director.

“Given what we’ve been going through with the budget and the end of session, that’s why we haven’t really” taken up the appointment, Munoz said.

Sen. David Luechtefeld, R-Okawville, the ranking minority member on the committee, disagreed.

“We’re here. We’re sitting around. We’re not doing a whole lot,” said Luechtefeld, in a rare moment of candor about how hard legislators are actually working.

Monken is Gov. Pat Quinn’s 29-year-old appointee to head the ISP. There was much criticism of the pick early on because of Monken’s lack of police experience. That’s probably the reason his appointment has not even been read into the Senate journal, months after Quinn made the appointment.

Once that’s done, the Senate has 60 session days to confirm Monken, so the appointment can be held up as long as Senate leadership wants.

The Senate has had long enough to decide. While Monken serves in an interim capacity until the Senate takes action, neither Monken nor the ISP should continue to be in limbo about whom the permanent director will be.

The General Assembly accomplished almost nothing the two days it was here last week. Given its track record and the public statements by some legislators that they can procrastinate on the budget even past the July 1 start of the fiscal year, the Senate ought to take the time and resolve Monken’s appointment.

State Journal-Register

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